1/ Happy #MonopolyMonday & #NationalMilkDay! 🥛

This week, we’ll be spotlighting America’s largest dairy monopoly— @dfamilk.
2/ After multiple acquisitions, @dfamilk now controls ~30% of all raw milk in the U.S.

Most recently, they announced in February 2020 that they would be acquiring @deanfoods, the largest producer of milk in the U.S., for $425 million.
cnbc.com/2020/02/17/dai…
3/ @deanfoods owned nearly 50 brands…and more than 40 of them were dairy products. 😳

Now, many of these brands and subsidiaries are owned by @dfamilk.
4/ Four months prior to being acquired by @dfamilk, @deanfoods filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

reuters.com/article/us-dea…
5/ But before the merger was finalized, the DOJ thought they smelled a potential milk monopoly forming…
wsj.com/articles/regul…
6/ And, of course, their instincts were correct.

Just three months after their announcement to buy @deanfoods, @dfamilk was hit with an antitrust suit.
fooddive.com/news/dfa-hit-w…
7/ The plaintiffs, Food Lion and Maryland & Virginia Milk Producers Co-Op Association, called @dfamilk "an aspiring monopolist” and feared that @dfamilk would force them to either join @dfamilk or cease to exist…
8/ Of course they had a reason to be worried.

Agricultural co-ops like @dfamilk are notorious for squeezing the dairy farmers that they rely on.
washingtonmonthly.com/magazine/janua…
9/ Which is probably why they’ve found themselves at the center of multiple class action lawsuits…

apnews.com/article/583ceb…
10/ As @clairekelloway explains, the consolidation of American agriculture “is the product of policies that permit and reward monopoly power, regardless of the risks to producers, consumers, and even, ironically, to monopolists themselves.”
washingtonmonthly.com/2019/11/21/the…
11/11 It’s time for milk monopolist @dfamilk to mooove aside and let more dairy processors & agricultural co-ops compete in the market. 🐮

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More from @econliberties

12 Jan
So, you may have noticed that “The Courage to Learn” is nearly 200 pages…

You should read it!

But if you’re looking to get a *quick* primer on how economic concentration effects key sectors of our economy like ag, defense, tech & more, we’ve got some one-pagers to help👇
2/ The world’s most dangerous duopoly: @Facebook & @Google

economicliberties.us/our-work/ctl-g…
3/ The heavily concentrated Airlines & Online Travel Agencies ✈️

economicliberties.us/our-work/ctl-a…
Read 10 tweets
12 Jan
Today, Economic Liberties is proud to release “The Courage to Learn."

It's a deeply researched case for abandoning the consumer welfare approach & a comprehensive, new antitrust and competition policy agenda for Congress & the Biden administration.
economicliberties.us/our-work/coura…
2/ As @sarahmillerdc explains, “The Courage to Learn tells a previously untold but crucial story about how America’s economy works and why it’s not working well for so many of us.”
3/ “The Courage to Learn” examines the real-world implications of the widespread adoption of the “consumer welfare standard,” which encourages consolidation under the banner of efficiency.

Spoiler alert: it hasn’t been good.
Read 8 tweets
10 Nov 20
The @Uber-@Postmates merger will ONLY benefit monopolistic pandemic profiteers focused on growing their power at the expense of restaurants, workers, and consumers.

axios.com/doj-clears-ube…
2/ Both @Uber & @Postmates’ business models are built on trapping restaurants & workers in a predatory payday loan cycle of dependence and destitution.

And both @Uber & @Postmates use the “Break it till you Make It” approach to the law.
3/ @Uber was a vanguard in the business of providing illegal taxi service and misclassifying workers as “contractors.”

@Postmates pioneered the predatory practice of stealing menus and offering unauthorized delivery service from restaurants without their knowledge.
Read 11 tweets
10 Nov 20
👋 Good morning to the EU regulators who filed antitrust charges against @amazon!

Today’s news is an encouraging sign that the world is waking up to @amazon’s monopoly power.
apnews.com/article/intern…
2/ @amazon's abusive use of third party sellers' data has long been evident.

Yet when members of the House Antitrust Subcommittee asked @amazon execs, under oath, to explain their practices, they were met with disrespect, obfuscation & outright dishonesty. 😤
3/ @amazon’s abuses don’t stop there.

Our “Understanding Amazon” report shows how @amazon became a dangerous monopoly & how we can end their dominance over e-commerce👇

economicliberties.us/our-work/under…
Read 4 tweets
9 Nov 20
To successfully address the crises they’ll inherit, personnel in a Biden administration must be both diverse & independent from big corporate interests.

motherjones.com/2020-elections…
2/ “The next administration must empower diverse voices and be prepared to challenge powerful corporate and financial interests whenever they are in conflict with racial and economic justice or national security” - @mh4oh, Economic Liberties’ Senior Advisor
3/ “We need more Executive Branch appointees who come directly from the most affected communities on the frontlines of our current crises of economic, racial, gender, and climate injustice.” - @ksabeelrahman of @Demos_Org
Read 6 tweets
9 Nov 20
1/ Happy #MonopolyMonday!

Coming off the heels of last week’s election, we thought it would be fitting to spotlight the biggest voting machine monopoly — @essvote.
2/ Along w/ @dominionvoting & @HartInterCivic, @essvote dominates the production of voting machines.

But half of the country votes on @essvote machines alone. 😳
propublica.org/article/the-ma…
3/ More than 160 million Americans cast their votes in the 2020 Presidential election, nearly 9 in 10 individuals who voted in person likely used a voting machine made by @essvote, @dominionvoting or @HartInterCivic.
whowhatwhy.org/2020/09/22/the…
Read 9 tweets

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